Paris [France], August 4 (ANI): India boxer Nishant Dev narrowly missed out on a medal after falling short in the men’s 71kg quarter-finals at the ongoing Paris Olympics.
Nishant dominated the first round against Mexico’s Marco Verde. But the Mexican boxer made ground and eventually scripted a comeback to ensure a medal for his country.
In round one, Nishant got off to an aggressive start, and the Mexican ducked around to evade the flurry of blows that came his way. The 23-year-old boxer connected with a couple of blows towards the end. He was rewarded for his aggressive approach, and four judges favoured Nishant.
In round two, Nishant continued with his intensity and jabbed straight, and Verde failed to cover up. The bout started to turn around after Verde started to exert pressure on Nishant. The second round ended in a split decision favouring Verde 3-2.
In round three, Verde adopted a much more aggressive approach and landed a combination of punches. Verde cornered Nishant and connected with some uppercuts.
The fatigue started to reflect in Nishant’s body language, and Verde once again pinned him to the corner. The Mexican boxer made a comeback and won the quarter-finals by 4-1.
Vijender Singh is still the only Indian male boxer to win an Olympic medal. He achieved the feat in the 2008 Beijing Olympics by securing a bronze medal.
Earlier in the tournament, the Indian pugilist managed to move into the final eight after a nervy affair against Ecuador’s Jose Rodriguez.
He managed to win the fixture by a split decision and sealed his spot in the men’s 71kg quarter-finals.
Nishant’s compatriot, Amit Panghal, crashed out of the Paris Olympics following a loss in the men’s 51 kg category round of 16.
Amit lost to Zambia’s Patrick Chinyemba by 1-4. In the initial rounds, Amit was highly attacking, and both boxers traded punches. But in the third round, judges ruled in favour of the Zambian boxer entirely, and he won by a split decision of 1-4. (ANI)
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